ICI Will sell Quest to rival Givaudan

ICI has agreed to sell its Quest flavors and fragrances business to Givaudan, the Swiss flavors and fragrances giant, for $2.3 billion. Quest had sales last year of almost $1.1 billion. The deal is the second recent big divestment for ICI, which in September completed the sale of its Uniqema oleochemicals business to Croda for about $800 million. Uniqema also had 2005 sales of about $1.1 billion. Quest and the forerunner of Uniqema were two of the three main businesses that ICI acquired from Unilever in a transformational 1997 move. Together, the divestments reduce ICI's sales by about 20% and leave it operating mainly a paint business and National Starch & Chemical, the third of the Unilever buys. For Givaudan, the purchase will increase annual sales by about 50%. The company says it will become the global market leader in fine and consumer product fragrances and boost its position in the flavors business.